


Fate of the Titans

by SpadesHigh



Category: DCU, Teen Titans (Animated Series), Teen Titans (Comics), Teen Titans - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Drama, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-11-29 22:09:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11450058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpadesHigh/pseuds/SpadesHigh
Summary: A new origin for the Teen Titans, as old faces and new ones join together to battle demon kings, tyrannical gods, and, occasionally, the hormonal, angst drama that is adolescence.  (Or "I got excited about the upcoming Teen Titans live action show and set out to write starrae, and then kinda sorta ended up retconning the entire Teen Titans universe, oops.")





	1. Night Falls On Tamaran

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tamaran lived in peace and harmony. Then, everything changed when Apokolips attacked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Teen Titans, as well as all other characters in this story, are the sole property of DC Comics.

“Kori, Kori...” a soft, teasing voice called, accompanied by a soft poke to the aforementioned individual’s cheek.  Kori, or, more properly, Princess Koriand’r of Tamaran, slapped away the offending hand before rolling over and falling back asleep.  A slightly older Tamaranean woman, who had been trying to rouse the sleeping princess, chuckled at her sister’s childish antics, before forcefully tipping the bed, causing Koriand’r to slide off it and onto the ground, jarring her awake.  The princess looked blearily observed her surroundings, apparently attempting to piece together what series of events had led to her lying on the ground.  Catching sight of her elder sister, she shot a glare her way, which only caused the elder girl to laugh at her sister’s complete failure to look even mildly intimidating.

“Kori,” she said, smiling, “you are approaching the age of maturity.  You really must learn to wake up at a reasonable time.”

Kori grumbled, but smiled back at her sister.  Komand’r, for that was her sister’s name, gestured to the chair by her bed, holding up a brush in her other hand.  Kori happily complied, sitting down with her back to her elder sister.  Komand’r gently ran the brush through her sister’s hair, from its pink roots to its orange tips.  Kori had naturally messy hair, but her sister never failed to brush it out for her every morning.  They were silent for a while, until Komand’r broke the silence.  “I hear that General Ph’yzzon has been seeking to court you.”

Kori scoffed.  “General Ph’yzzon is nearly the same age as father, not to mention that I am not yet of an age to marry.”

Komand’r smirked, leaning down to whisper in her sister’s ear.  “Don't you mean not to mention that whenever he comes to court, you spend the whole time ogling his daughter.”

Kori blushed brightly, sputtering in indignation.  “I do no such thing!”

Komand’r laughed brightly at her little sister’s embarrassment.  “Your denial fools only yourself, little one.”  She placed a gentle kiss on the top of Kori’s head.  “Don’t worry, it’s nothing to be ashamed of.  You like what you like.  No one will fault you for that.”  She wrapped her arms around Kori’s shoulders, who leaned back into the hug.  They stayed in that position for a while, Koriand’r taking comfort in her sister’s warmth.  As time stretched on though, Komand’r slowly released her sister, before pulling her into a standing position.  “Well, enough of that.  You need to get dressed.  It is nearly time to meet our tutor.”  Kori nodded, and Komand’r left the room to give her privacy.  A few minutes later, Koriand’r emerged in an outfit that consisted of a purple body suit that covered the main part of her body, complemented by matching gloves and boots, leaving only the upper halves of her biceps and thighs exposed.  Nodding slightly, Komand’r begins to lead the way towards the wing of the palace where the royal tutor held their lessons.  The two sisters smiled brightly as they walked, reveling in the pure, simple beauty of their lives.  And then, as if a light switch had suddenly been flipped, the sky turned black.  The princesses looked up in confusion, and were confronted with the sight of a massive shape suspended in the air, blotting out most of the sky.  It was Komand’r who first realized what the shape was; a gigantic ship.  As they watched, the bottom of the ship opened up, and thousands upon thousands of dark shapes swarmed out from the ship’s belly.  Komand’r knew that whatever was going on, it was definitely not good.  She grabbed her little sister’s hand and began running towards the throne room, where their parents were.  They dashed through the halls of the palace, a desperate, full-tilt race to reach their parents’ side.

Just as it seemed they would reach the throne room safely, they turned the corner and saw a palace guard fighting a horde of winged, bio-mechanical monstrosities, unlike anything they had ever seen.  The guardsman held his own, taking out many of the creatures with blasts of green energy, but he was surrounded, and could not defend all sides at once.  As he turned to fire at one of the nearby creatures, one swooped in from behind, biting down on his shoulder.  Kori rushed forward to attempt to help, but her sister held her back, shaking her head.  They watched, silently, as the skin around the bite mark began to bubble and shift, shapes bulging under the surface before tearing through, until his entire body had morphed to become identical to those of the other monsters.  Kori let out a small whimper of fear, and the creatures turned to look in their direction.  Komand’r grabbed her sister, dragging her back behind the corner before they were spotted, but she knew they could not stay there.  With their route to the throne room cut off, Komand’r knew there was only one viable option.  The royal family kept a personal ship docked nearby, for use in emergency situations, so that is where they went.  This time there was no sprinting, they slunk quietly, stealthily through the halls of their home, hoping to avoid any more of those creatures.  By some miracle, they managed to avoid notice, and reached the hangar bay.  Komand’r ushered Kori into the ship, then moved to the controls for the bay doors.  Once she opened the doors, she could join her sister on the ship.

Or, that’s what she had hoped.  Instead, as soon as the doors opened, the creatures from before began pouring in.  The elder princess surveyed the situation calmly, and knew what she had to do.  She raised a hand and calmly sealed the lock on the ship, before activating the remote launch sequence.  She directed the onboard computer to warp to a random, non-hostile, inhabited planet, selected after launch so that there would be no record to trace.  Then for the first time in her life, Komand’r prepared herself to kill.  The ship would need time and room to escape, and she would make sure it got some.  Her hands glowed with green plasma, and she lifted her hands to point at the creatures that swarmed ever closer.  Her parents had always taught them that it was better to fire in bursts, so as to conserve energy, but Komand’r knew that what she needed now wasn’t conservation, but raw, destructive power, so instead she brought her hands together and unleashed a beam of concentrated plasma, burning through her enemies as if they were nothing more than paper.  The ship started, and she focused on keeping the creatures away from its hull.  She could feel her strength waning, but she refused to give in, redoubling her efforts.  At last after what seemed an eternity she heard the warp engines kick in, and allowed herself to look up and watch as the ship disappeared from view.  She laughed, knowing that her sister was safe, but her feeling of triumph did not last long, as a sharp blow to the back of her head rendered her unconscious. 

* * *

As Komand’r blinked herself awake, she became aware of two things.  The first was a massive, splitting pain at the base of her skull, and the second was a large man in silver armor, standing in front of her.  The man wore a horned helmet, and in one hand her carried a huge, glowing axe, and in the other, dangling by their hair, were the heads of her parents.  She screamed, but the sound was muffled by a gag around her mouth.  The armored man turned to look at her, then turned away to look at a robed man who stood at the other end of what she now recognized as the royal throne room. 

“Desaad, she’s awake.”

The man turned, and Komand’r saw that he was horribly scarred and disfigured, with pale skin.  He approached her as she lay on the floor, bending down so that their faces were only inches apart.  “I’m only going to ask this once.  Where is the other princess?”

His words were softly spoken, without malice, and yet Komand’r trembled with fear.  “I don’t know.”  As soon as the words left her mouth Komand’r felt a sickening sensation, as if something was crawling around inside her skull.

Desaad frowned.  “It would appear that you are telling the truth.  Our lord will not be pleased that one escaped.  But, in any case, the question remains, what shall we do with you?”  He paused, considering, and then a twisted, unsettling grin broke out across his face.  “Steppenwolf,” he said turning to the armored man, “why don’t we give her to Granny.”


	2. Rachel Roth, Employee of the Month

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Salem is one of the most hipster towns you will ever find, and Kent Nelson is like the Sean Bean of DC.

Salem, Massachusetts was a very odd town.  This oddness came from the fact that, in spite of being almost completely devoid of any natural magical potential, it had become one of the most important hubs of magic-users in the world.  It all started, as most know, in the year 1692, when a group of young girls pretended that they were affected by witchcraft and accused some of the villagers of being witches.  This led to the brutal reign of mass hysteria known as the Salem Witch Trials.  These trials were neither the most brutal, nor the most deadly of their kind, but they were the most publicized.  Ironically, these attempts to purge the town of witchcraft had the opposite effect, drawing witches, wizards, and mages of every stripe to the small town.  It became a rallying cry, a reminder of the cruelties humanity was capable of, and of the persecution that magic users faced.  And so, it became a gathering place, a safe haven, where mages might practice their craft alongside others of their kind, and as the years passed, generations of magic users left remnants of their power throughout the town, until the very cobblestones were brimming with magical energy.

And now, in this town of miscellaneous, contradictory magic, there lived a most curious individual.  Well, actually, many curious individuals lived there, but we will be speaking of one in particular.  This individual went by the name of Rachel Roth, and she was currently enjoying a cup of tea in one of the many coffee shops to be found in downtown Salem.  While it had the hipster look that was apparently an inherent aspect of all coffee shop, it was at least painted in dark colors, which meant that it was automatically better than ninety percent of the coffee shops that Rachel had ever been in.  Its choice in color scheme also meant that it attracted many individuals of the goth and or emo variety, meaning that her gray skin and black lips went relatively unnoticed by the other patrons.  Finishing her tea, she threw away the Styrofoam cup and walked outside.  Turning right, she took a grand total of seven paces before turning to enter the building directly next to the coffee shop.  The building was a small bookstore, which she passed through quickly to reach the back.  Past the employees only sign, Rachel reached a locked door.  She pulled out a key and placed it in the lock, whispering a short incantation as she did so, and the door opened smoothly, admitting Rachel to the staircase to the apartment upstairs, before closing and relocking behind her.  Unlocking the apartment door required a different key and a different incantation, which Rachel recited without difficulty.  She knew that the Nelsons, the owners of the shop, who were letting Rachel stay in their apartment, were not currently home, so she didn’t bother to call out to announce her arrival.  Instead, she simply made her way to her room, grabbing a book from the sizable bookshelf as she went, and flopped down on her bed.  She had a few hours before her shift at the bookstore began, and she was intent on getting the most out of it.

* * *

 

When the time came for her shift to start, she went downstairs, flipped the store sign to open, and took her usual station at the counter, where she could observe all those who came into the shop.  The shop was never too busy, honestly, so working here was not exactly strenuous.  Most of the Nelson’s income actually came from trading in magical items and tomes, while this shop was little more than a front for tax purposes; a common occurrence in the occult town.  Rachel was sitting behind the counter, tapping a pen on her thigh, when the bell above the door tinkled, indicating that someone had entered the shop.  Rachel looked up to see a man in a cream colored suit, with gray eyes and gray-blonde hair, carrying a small stack of books.  This was Kent Nelson, her boss.  He smiled at her, and received a slight twitching at the corners of Rachel’s mouth in return.

“How are you, today, Rachel?” he asked cheerfully.

Rachel shrugged as she replied.  “Nothing in particular to complain about.”

Mr. Nelson nodded thoughtfully, taking her statement seriously, rather than as an off-hand response to a rote question.  “Then it is truly a good day."

She simply nodded in agreement, knowing it would be pointless to attempt to dissuade the aging shop-keeper. Kent set his books down on the counter next to her, before retrieving a small placard from the top of the pile.  He winked at Rachel as he put it up, before moving aside to allow her to see it.  It was a picture of herself, apparently taken before she dyed the tips of her hair red, with the caption, “Rachel Roth, Employee of the Month.”  Rachel raised an eyebrow, looking back at her boss.

“You know I’m the only one that works here, right?”

Mr. Nelson shrugged.  “Just because there isn’t much competition doesn’t mean your efforts are any less appreciated.”

Rachel shook her head, amazed by just how cheesy the shop-keeper could be sometimes.  Kent had a far-away look in his eyes, before he turned back to Rachel.

“Do you remember the night we met?” he asked.  Rachel’s eyes drifted closed as the memories came flooding back.  _Fire, and smoke, and pain.  The world was burning, and she was so afraid, so very, very afraid.  Then came the golden light, the outstretched hand, like an angel come to lift her up to heaven.  And suddenly it didn’t hurt anymore, and she knew she didn’t have to be afraid._   Rachel nodded.  “That night,” Mr. Nelson continued, “after you fell asleep, Inza and I had a talk.”  Rachel sat up straighter; she had never heard this story before.  “I said to her, ‘we barely know what to do with one kid, what are we going to do with two?’  And she just smiled at me, and said, ‘It doesn’t matter if we think we can do this or not.  What matters now is that that kid needs a place to call home, and we’re going to give her one.’  And I just nodded along, because what Inza wants, Inza gets.  And so, that night, our family of three became a family of four.”

He smiled at her, softly.  “I know you don’t really think of yourself as part of the family, and that’s okay,” he reached out and placed a hand on top of her head, “but you will always have a home here.  Even-” his voice broke, his eyes suddenly glistening with tears, “-even when we’re not here to share it with you.”  The words hung heavily in the air, a truth neither of them was really comfortable with confronting.  Kent Nelson was dying.  Of course, any doctor he was brought to would tell you that he was in perfect health, more than perfect, seeing as the man had recently celebrated his one hundred twenty first birthday.  But, none the less, he was dying.  The evidence was there, for those with eyes to see it.  His aura, which, when Rachel had met him, was as bright as a sun, was now little more than a flickering candlelight, as if the smallest breeze could snuff it out.  Rachel reached out a hand, hesitantly, but could not bring herself to make contact with the man.  He shuddered with a restrained sob, then wiped the tears from his face, and smiled back at her.

“Sorry, kiddo, it seems I lost my composure there for a minute.  What I wanted to tell you was that Junior called.”  Rachel perked up a little at the mention of the Nelsons’ son.  “He says that Inza’s awake, so I was thinking that, if you want, we could go see her.”  Rachel nodded slowly.  Dr. Inza Nelson, currently one hundred nineteen, was having a much more pronounced reaction to the whole death thing, and so was currently residing in a hospital in New York.  Together, Rachel and Kent made their way to the back of the store, where a large magical formula was etched into the floor, with an identical formula on the ceiling above.  Kent leaned on Rachel, just a little.  “Would you mind taking care of the teleportation?” he asked.  “I’m just a little tired today.”

Rachel nodded happy to comply.  The two of them stepped into the inert magic circle, facing each other.  Rachel inhaled, hands at her sides, palms facing down.  The long-range teleportation ritual would require her to loosen the restraints on the outflow of her magical energy, so she began the incantation to do so.  “Azarath,” the lines of the circle began to glow.  She raised her hands, bringing them together in such a way that only the tips of her fingers touched.  “Metrion,” black lightning arced from floor to ceiling, never touching the two occupants of the circle.  She separated her hands, then lifted them in a sudden, violent movement.  “Zinthos.”  Everything went dark as a pillar of black energy rose up between the two circles, encapsulating everything inside.


End file.
